Bran Falls from the Tower (Part 1)

Theon was panicked.

Never in his life had he felt such panic.

Listening to the groans drawing closer from below, a distraught Theon scrambled around the top of the Broken Tower, desperate to find a place to hide.

But the Broken Tower had been abandoned for years; aside from the dust on the floor, it was completely empty.

There wasn't a single spot that offered any concealment.

Finally, Theon reached the room's window and set his gaze on a protruding stone outside.

"I have no choice but to stand there and hide for now."

"Damn it, the Queen is actually sleeping with Ser Jaime!"

"If they find me, I'm as good as dead!"

Theon gritted his teeth, vaulted onto the dilapidated window frame, and then carefully shifted his feet, pressing himself tightly against the wall as he stepped onto the stone jutting out from the exterior of the Broken Tower.

He let out a faint breath, thinking to himself, "As long as no one leans out to look, they shouldn't notice me here."

"Gods preserve me, let them leave quickly!"

Theon couldn't help but tilt his head toward the window, his heart filled with both terror and excitement.

He never dreamed that he would stumble upon the Kingsguard and the Queen having an affair just by following the instructions in the letter to come to the Broken Tower.

What was even more fatal was that their relationship was so scandalous.

Theon didn't even need to think to know that if they discovered him, there was no way he would escape with his life.

"Gods, why did it have to be such a coincidence!"

"Couldn't they have waited until after my meeting was over before coming here?"

"Still, the Queen is so bold..."

"If this gets out, the Lannister family will be completely slaughtered by the King."

"Wait, could the King's three children also be..."

Theon pressed himself hard against the wall, his mind racing with wild thoughts while he listened to the movements of the two in the room.

His heart hammered against his ribs.

A cold wind blew, and Theon couldn't help but shiver.

Even so, the miserable Theon didn't dare move a muscle, only staring toward the distant Raven's Nest and praying for them to finish quickly.

He was terrified that the slightest sound would alert the pair inside.

Another moment passed.

The voices of Jaime and Cersei drifted out from the room.

Theon let out a small breath, curious to hear what they were saying.

"I don't like that old wolf; you should be the one serving as Hand of the King."

Feeling satisfied, Cersei leaned lazily into Jaime's arms, her slender fingers tracing his face.

Jaime sat on the floor, holding Cersei. "Spare me. Let whoever wants that thankless job have it."

"Can't you see the danger behind this?" Cersei frowned, looking at her brother. "Robert trusts Stark the most. If Stark senses anything, we'll be in danger!"

"Then we kill the wolf just like we killed the eagle," Jaime replied dismissively.

Jaime's words made Theon's heart constrict violently outside.

His eyes widened, his mouth hung open involuntarily, and his fingers dug desperately into the stone above him.

"The former Hand, Jon Arryn, was killed by the Queen and her brother!"

An incredible thought appeared in Theon's mind.

Theon shuddered so hard that his foot nearly slipped from the stone, but he managed to catch his footing just in time.

"If I tell Lord Ned and the King about this, the power structure of The Westerlands will surely be reshuffled."

"And the Iron Islands could profit from it..."

"When Father finds out, he will surely praise me!"

"Stay hidden, just stay hidden and don't get caught!"

Just as Theon was doing his best to conceal his presence, Bran, who had climbed over from the Godswood, inadvertently spotted him hiding on the exterior wall of the Broken Tower.

"Huh, why is Theon here? Didn't he go hunting with Father?"

"Does he like climbing walls too?"

Bran gripped the stone with his hands, his eyes blinking with excitement.

In Winterfell, it was too hard to find a fellow wall-climber who shared his interests.

This was the first time he had seen anyone other than himself climb to such a height.

"Don't alert Theon yet, let's go give him a surprise!"

Bran thought happily to himself, then continued to climb with all his might, soon reaching the top of the First Keep.

He took a deep breath, looked at the gargoyle statue on the parapet of the First Keep, took a running leap, and skillfully grabbed the statue firmly with both arms.

His entire body was suddenly suspended in mid-air.

Bran's Direwolf crouched below, its smoke-grey eyes fixed intently on its master, fearing that he might fall.

At this moment.

A black raven flapped its wings and flew over, landing on the head of a nearby gargoyle statue, silently watching Bran.

It was as if it were witnessing Bran's impending fate.

Bran did not notice the raven; he was still swinging his arms with effort, moving from one gargoyle statue to another like he was on a swing.

After a few breaths, Bran gave a powerful leap, vaulted onto the outer wall of the Broken Tower, and grabbed firmly onto a protruding stone.

"Thud!"

The sudden, slight vibration of the outer wall made Theon snap back to reality instantly.

He instinctively looked toward the source of the sound, and a figure he knew all too well came into view.

"Bran..."

Theon groaned in despair, praying in his heart: Don't call out, please don't make a sound!

He gripped a stone with one hand to steady himself, placed the other hand to his lips, and frantically gestured for Bran to be quiet.

But Bran was focused on his climbing and did not notice.

He nimbly grabbed the stones, climbed to a spot just below and to the side of Theon in a few moves, and then asked curiously, "Theon, why are you here?"

The moment Bran spoke, Theon realized that everything was over.

He had no time to think, shouting, "Bran, go!"

Having said that, Theon turned and scrambled down the wall, grabbing at the stones.

In this life-or-death moment, he didn't even care whether he knew how to climb or not.

However, Jaime in the room reacted even faster!

The moment he heard Bran's voice, he immediately pushed Cersei aside, rose quickly, and rushed to the window.

At a single glance, he saw Theon and Bran hanging on the outer wall of the Broken Tower.

Caught off guard, Bran was startled by the sudden appearance of Jaime, and his fingers unintentionally slipped from the stone.

Suddenly, he let out a cry and plummeted downward.

Seeing this, Theon instinctively reached out to grab Bran.

But he was also pulled off balance by Bran's fall, and both of them nearly tumbled toward the ground together.

At the critical moment, Jaime suddenly reached out, grabbed Theon's arm, and pulled them both up with force.

At this point, Cersei in the room finally reacted.

She let out a shriek, hurriedly put on her clothes, and screamed in terror, "They saw us, they must have seen us!"

"Jaime, kill them, kill them now!"

Jaime kept his expression calm, blocked the panicked Theon and Bran at the window, turned to face Cersei, and made a downward gesture to soothe her.

"Cersei, calm down, calm down!"

Hearing this, Cersei calmed down just a little.

Seeing that Cersei was no longer speaking, Jaime turned around and looked coldly at Theon and Bran, who wore very different expressions.

"Whoa, I didn't expect this dump to attract so many people."

"Is there nowhere else to go in Winterfell?"

Jaime's words were mocking, but his eyes were overflowing with murderous intent.